Author's note: so this will answer the dying questions on exactly how our favorite ship will be handling things with the company... oh and there is a final surprise for everyone towards the end of the chapter... enjoy
Disclosure: my 30th birthday is in a few days... I would love arrow show ownership for it... or a shout out from Stephen Amell on social media... ah dreams
"So to summarize, you want to confirm all the changes here, which you can not disclose until tomorrow or after because some parties involved don't know of those plans yet. You also want to confirm your relationship and the truth about it in the past, including Ray Palmer's involvement."
"Precisely. Is that not what we should do?" Felicity was worried that they may be giving too much to the media. She knew that being too open could lead to a lot more problems but she wanted them to know who she really was.
"Actually it is perfect. You can be seen as open and honest from the beginning so that they stop looking for a sensational angle. It is a tell all that opens eyes to the real romance of Starling's golden boy and his spunky IT girl, as they put it today. I know just who to use and we could do the whole interview here so that we can show you two on top and in control of the company. It will set the records straight. Would you have a problem if it was a filmed interview?"
"Only if I get nervous." Felicity huffed.
Oliver grinned and explained. "She has a tendency to run at the mouth a bit when she is nervous. We could ease it by knowing what questions will be asked and let the interviewer know what areas are no-go places. We are okay being open but we don't want the spotlight turned on our friends and family. We signed on to this but they haven't so we don't want to disturb their lives."
"Of course. We can develop a list of questions that you are okay with and let the interviewer know they are to only ask those. I can even have legal pull together a contract that says if they veer from the list or do anything unapproved during the interview, they lose the exclusive completely."
"That sounds a bit strict. Do we really have to resort to that?" Felicity worried that they would do damage by coming off as bullies if they did that.
"Felicity we have to control them a bit or they will treat this as a free for all." Oliver said.
"Correct Miss Smoak but given to the right source, they won't mind. Any idea who you would like?"
"We were hoping you had an idea on that. We want someone who will talk the story serious and be respectful of us, the material given and our requests. Any ideas?" Oliver hoped that Rebecca had a few connections in the media world that could be trusted to get the story right.
"Oh yes. I know the best person that will present you as the sweethearts of Starling, like you are, who are going to use their standings with the company as a united force to help it and the city overcome its past. By the end of this, either of you could run for office and win in a landslide with the image that will come from it." Rebecca smiled as she clicked through her contacts list on her computer. Finding the information she needed, she picked up the phone and called out to them.
"Starling Post, Max Craig speaking."
"Hey Max. It's Rebecca at Palmer Tech."
"Hey Rebecca. How's it going? Bet you a bit busy there right now."
"Yeah you boys know how to keep a girl on her toes." she laughed.
"You calling to make a statement? I can get the business desk on for you."
"No not yet. I actually am calling with a favor. You busy on a piece right now?"
"Not really. Nothing I can't move around to make room for you. Why?"
"Well I have a couple people in my office who would like to discuss a story idea with you. Are you somewhere we can all talk and not be overheard? It's an exclusive that we don't want it out until you finish it."
"Give me a sec." They heard him rustling around then a door slam shut. Rebecca smiled, reassuring the couple that he was going to be good for them. "Okay fire away."
"I will turn it over to them. Okay it is all yours." She held her hand out showing the couple that this was their call now. Felicity let Oliver take the lead, knowing he had more experience in matters like this.
"Mr. Craig? This is Oliver Queen. How are you doing today?"
"Great now. How are you Mr. Queen?"
"Good thank you for asking. I have Miss Felicity Smoak here beside me. We wanted to discuss an exclusive tell all story with you."
"Fire away."
"Well first I make sure that everything we discuss today on and off the record you won't release anything until we tell you. Timing is everything right now."
"Of course Mr. Queen. Today is off the record and when we sit down we will discuss the release timeframe."
"Great to hear that. I know you have already heard about some of the changes with Palmer Tech in the last couple days. What are we offering is an exclusive interview with both Miss Smoak and myself, either written or filmed, explaining all changes once they are completed plus the truth behind our relationship. We want to set the record straight on several topics in both matters. Now there would be a few rules and certain topics that would be allowed. Still game?"
"An exclusive tell all for Starling's golden couple. Hell ya!" His enthusiasm made everyone release a breathe of relief and laugh. "So when do we do this?"
"Well we have a meeting after this that we give us a better idea of that. Should be in the next day or so. We also have to create the list of questions that we are going to allow you to use. You will be able to choose from them only. You don't have to use all of them if you don't want to and we promise there will be plenty of material for the interview. We just want to make sure those close to us are not thrown under the spotlight by doing this."
"I understand Mr. Queen. I have done interviews like this before. It's not my first rodeo so don't worry. It will be done very respectfully and professionally. We have an online option here at the paper so if it is ok with you and Miss Smoak, I would like to use a filmed version of the interview to post online and the write a piece for the paper itself."
"That's sound fun. I mean our idea for the company is to embrace our past while excelling in our future. What better way to show it than using the old and new ways to get news in our first interview." Felicity answered, in awe of the idea.
"Glad you like it Miss Smoak." Max chuckled as he heard her own enthusiasm matching his earlier.
"Felicity please."
"Then call me Max and may I say congratulations on the new ownership of your company. I am looking forward to see what you do with it. I have been reporting on the ongoing of the major families of Starling for about twenty years now, it will be great to see some fresh insights in this world."
"Well I don't know about that. Galas still worry me. I tend to be a bit of a babbled when I get nervous. You never know what will come out of my mouth. Like now. I'm sure I shouldn't have told you that. Any chance you can forget that?"
"Trust me Felicity, you secret is safe with me. I will make this easy so you have nothing to worry about."
"That's why we called you, Max." Rebecca reassured him.
"Okay so we have a deal and as far as any press releases about the company changes. We will make the board knows about this deal and everything on this front will be silent until you story is released so that you get a true exclusive. Then Rebecca's office will send out press statements to all other sources and field any follow up stories and questions for us. Sound good to everyone?" Oliver finalized.
"Great on my end." Max called out.
"I'm good with that plan." Rebecca responded.
"Perfect for me too. I will call have my assistant call you Max to schedule the interview once we know when we can do it. We were thinking to do it here in my office. Sound good?" Felicity finished up the last detail.
"Perfect. Talk to you soon. It has been a pleasure, Felicity. Mr. Queen."
"Oliver please."
"Oliver. Rebecca we will talk again and once they are done I will send you all copies to sign off on before anything is released. Talk to you all soon and thanks again. This is a story everyone would kill for."
"Yes but only you would do it right, Max. I know this was perfect for you. Talk later." With that Rebecca hung up. "Wow this definitely is something new."
"What's that?" Felicity asked curiously.
"A CEO or company owner willing to be cooperative with the media. You sure are shaking things up here already, Miss Smoak."
"Felicity please. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of that. Just not sure everyone will be a fan." Felicity stood as Oliver stood up and buttoned his jacket.
"Then that's their problem. You two are going to be good for the company. I can tell." Rebecca put her hand out to shake with Felicity and Oliver, saying goodbye.
"Thank you, Rebecca."
"Of course. It's my job and I am really good at it. Let me know if you need anything else."
"We will. Have a good day." Oliver turned and followed Felicity out of the office.
"I don't think that could have gone better. This is actually going to work." Felicity commented as they waited for the elevator.
Just as the doors opened, Oliver placed his hand on her lower back and ushered into the car. He pressed the button for the executive floor and turned towards her. "Of course it is. We are going to make this work; together. Everything will be fine, Felicity. You'll see."
"When did you become an optimist?"
"When you gave me something to live for." Oliver leaned down to place a kiss when the doors opened again. An employee blushed and coughed to clear their throat as the exited to car. Oliver had forgotten that they were not alone in the car. He chuckled softly as a quiet blush shadowed his cheeks and he shook his head.
They exited the elevator to find Jerry standing there. He was holding two cups of coffee. "There you are. I was getting worried. Mr. Marks and Mr. Carter are here. They also have Mr. Foster in there. Oh and I put doughnuts in there this time. Nice to see you again, Mr. Queen." Jerry passed each of them their coffees then escorted them to the office.
Walking in, Felicity stripped out of her jacket and dropped her bag since they had gone straight from lunch to Rebecca's office. She gathered her tablet and handed Jerry her phone. "Doughnuts?" Oliver wondered.
"Oh yeah that was a joke between Jerry and I. Every time we place bagels in the conference room, no one ever eats them so we are trying out other items."
"Yeah, next time I am thinking danishes."
"Oh good idea! I love the raspberry ones at the bakery downtown. They drizzle dark chocolate on. It is so good."
"I will keep that in mind." Jerry smiled as they moved into the conference room.
"So will I." Oliver whispered as he passed behind her to shake hands with the three men waiting on them.
"So sorry we're late. We were meeting with Rebecca about press releases and all." Felicity explained.
"No problem, Miss Smoak. So I take it by that information that you are planning on keeping the company?" Mr. Marks questioned.
"I have done so thinking as well as talked it over with Oliver. I have loved this company for years. It's my home so yes I will be keeping the company. There will be a few changes that will need to be made though."
"We imagined so." Mr. Foster spoke up but smiled at her. She was standing at the head of the table, Oliver was sat on her right with Jerry to the right of him. To her left she found Mr. Marks, Mr. Foster and then Mr. Carter, who had paperwork and pads spread out in front of him.
Mr. Foster was was a middle-aged man who had dark brown hair the was starting to recede. He was dressed well in a dark olive colored suit with a crisp white button down underneath the jacket and a Sandy green tie to match.
Mr. Marks was a bit older. He was completely bald but it looked like part of his head could have hair so the hairstyle was by choice. He again was dressed sharply, appearing to fill a dark blue suit and light blue shirt with a pinstriped black and two tone blue tie. He had reminded Felicity of the kind of man that a very young toddler could have a grandfather.
Mr. Carter was the youngest for the three. Looking just a couple years younger than Oliver. He had joined the company after Ray became CEO last year. He was good and fast with the paperwork so she never had a question about his professionalism, even if he seemed a lot younger than the rest of the board. His dark grey suit and cream shirt were set off by a deep red tie that had a simple design of two white lines on it. He had a light dusting of stubble on his chin that matched the medium brown color of his hair on his head that was cut short but was still spiky.
"So our plan is to keep Palmer Tech but I have a few pieces of paperwork I am going need you to create Mr. Carter."
"Anything you need." He grabbed a pad and pen and prepared to note her requests.
"Great! First, I need you to draw up paperwork dividing ownership among multiple parties. I understand that all together the Board members owns 10%. I am giving 40% of the company to Oliver Queen. I am also giving 10% each to Miss Thea Queen and Mr. Walter Steele. That should leave 30% for myself." She looked at each of the men around her. The only person not shocked by this news was Oliver.
"Are you sure you want to do this Miss Smoak? This is after all your company and by doing this you would be making Mr. Queen the majority stockholder. Maybe you meant to give him the 30%."
"No, I know what I said. I want Oliver to be majority stockholder. It will work better with the rest of our plans. Next I need you to draw up paperwork naming Walter Steele temporary CEO for the next 6 months starting Monday. He is flying in tomorrow and I want to give him the weekend to prepare. After that time the permanent CEO will be Oliver Queen so any contract that needs to drawn to make that so will also need to be done. Oliver and I will be taking a short vacation for the next 4 months. Upon returning, he will shadow Walter for 2 months to make the transition a smooth one."
"Does this mean you won't be at the company anymore?" Jerry wondered.
"I would never leave this company behind. I will be taking up the post of Head of Applied Sciences, if the board will approve. I know the department well and with Mr. Wilson leaving it has left a major gap in the company. I will also find a replacement for my VP position and they will run the department in my absence but keep me appraised of any major issues so they can be addressed properly. I will need my contract drawn up as well, Mr. Carter."
"I can't speak for the entire board yet but I know they will be happy to know that you staying with the company. Selling them on Mr. Queen as CEO is going to be a bit more difficult. We all remember what type of CEO he was and how he had signed the company away without really thinking the decision through fully." Mr. Marks commented.
"I know that is what the board sees but at the time Oliver was dealing with very emotional and traumatic events that night, which turned out that Ms. Rochev had a hand in created and staged everything in the time to steal the company from him. Now he will be surrounded by people he trusts so it will not happen. Oliver and I will be presenting a united front to lead this company forward. This company has had 5 different CEOs in the 8 years since Robert Queen was here. Yes, Oliver was one of those but it seems to be that without a strong front and good example of leadership, this company will look weak again and open up for another takeover. Something none of us want."
"And you believe that you two can do this? Didn't you say yesterday that this relationship was in the beginning stage? What happens if you don't work out?" Mr. Foster inquired.
Oliver was about to answer when Felicity held up hand hand to indicate she had this cover. Her confidence in this moment impressed him like never before. Gone was the mouse assistant and here stood a strong, determined executive going to bat for what she wanted. "Yes, Oliver and I have just started our romantic relationship but we were friends long before that. We have always supported each other and we believe in this company. We want to see it grow and become successful; become a beacon of hope for the city. We know that we are stronger together and can accomplish anything we put our minds to as long as we are together doing it." Felicity gazed at Oliver lovingly as she finished up the end of her speech, ensuring he knew she wasn't talking just about the company with her last statement. Then she turned to look back at the gentlemen across the table from him. "Plus I read through the terms of my ownership contract today. It states as owner I can name whomever I wish as CEO and the board has no say in the matter. The only thing the board has to concern themselves with in terms of the CEO is work with he or she. So I really don't care how the board feels about Oliver as CEO. As owner now and second majority stockholder once this is all said and done, this decision is final. The only part of this plan that the board has say over is my position as Head of the Applied Sciences division. If that is denied it would be a bad move since I basically did all the paperwork and ran the division for the last year and know those employees better than anyone else."
"We will get the board to sign off on the position change, Miss Smoak. It will not be a problem."
"Good. Now the last thing I need of you Mr. Carter is whatever documentation needed to change the name of the company from Palmer Tech to Queen Incorporated." She purposely looked at Oliver as she finished this item. She had not discussed this with even him. She wanted to supreme him.
"Felicity, what do you mean Queen Incorporated?"
"Just what I said. The board gave the company over to Ray who changed the name, only to later take all the technology and medical projects he had wanted the company for and drop it on me. It is time that this company accepted its past but also looked towards its future. With that name is shows where the company came from but also gives us a fresh beginning to show a willingness to grow and strengthen its brand."
Oliver reached out for her hand without standing out of his chair, twining his fingers in hers. "You don't have to do this just because I am the CEO. The name of the company doesn't matter."
Felicity smiled at the genuine way Oliver was willing to accept having Ray's name on the building. He just wanted her happy but renaming the company would do that. "Oliver, I am not doing this because your CEO, I am doing it because this company started out as a Queen company and it should have stayed one. Ray really didn't do anything for the company that we couldn't do ourselves in the last year. Ray is not connected to this company anymore. He gave it away. So why should we continue to have his name plastered everywhere?"
Seeing that the room of men have agreed with her final request, Felicity smiled. "I should be able to have all the necessary paperwork drawn up by tomorrow evening. You said that is when Mr. Steele would be able to join us? What about Miss Queen?" Mr. Carter inquired.
"We can find out and get back to you. I mean Walter should be here early tomorrow afternoon so if we meet up about five o'clock we should be able to get everything signed." Felicity answered.
"That's fine. Then we will have the board meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow morning to inform them on the changes. I only ask that when you sign the required paperwork, hold off on your employment contract Miss Smoak. Just until we put it to a vote."
"Sounds perfect. Is there any other matters we need to discuss?"
"That is all I have." Mr. Carter announced as he began to gather his belongings and replace them in his messenger bag.
"I'm satisfied as well and look forward to seeing both of you back as soon as your vacation in over, just don't rush through it. Enjoy the time." Mr. Foster noted as he stood and shook hands with everyone.
"I was requested to tell you that we have agreed to a sit down interview once everything is signed and settled so please keep everything discussed confidential. It is an exclusive and will allow us to control what the media gets and says about this whole process." Oliver inform the small party. Each man nodded their agreement.
Mr. Carter and Mr. Foster shook hands with Oliver and Felicity then made their exit. Felicity shook hands with Mr. Marks and thanked him for his support before moving over to talk to Jerry. This left Oliver and Mr. Marks far enough away to give the privacy. "Oliver, I must say I was a bit worried when I heard that Miss Smoak was our new owner. All I knew off her was she worked in our IT department for 3 years before promoted to be your assistant then VP under Mr. Palmer. I wasn't sure she would be able to handle running this company in any aspect. Watching her today and yesterday, I am glad to say I was very mistaken. She sneaks up on you. Most will see her as soft and tender. They will underestimate her. That will be their own downfall. She is a lot stronger and tougher than most people will give her credit for."
"Don't I know it. I have made the mistake of underestimating her once and she proved me wrong so easily that I never made that mistake again. Anytime she says she is going to do something, I sit back and watch as she accomplishes her intended goal better than anyone could imagine."
"Well I am looking forward to seeing what both of you will do with the company. Robert and I were friends for years. We all were worried when he told us he intended on you taking over the company one day but I really feel that if he were here today he would be proud of the man you have become. You have turned into the man he saw in you."
"Thank you. I hope he is proud of me and the life I lead."
"He also would have loved her." Mr. Marks pointed over Oliver's shoulder at Felicity. She laughed a bit at something Jerry was saying as she tore a bit of doughnut off and placed in her mouth. A smile blossomed on Oliver's face watching her at ease within their company. "I mean a strong, smart, computer loving genius who calls out board members without batting an eye and looks like she does. Your dad would have tried to get marry her as soon as he met her and saw you around her."
Oliver blushed as he realized he had been a bit smitten and doting during the meeting. "Sorry if I..."
"No need to apologize, my boy. You're in love. We have all been there. Just be careful that it doesn't get too out of hand. After all this is a work place. With you two working so closely, we would need to make sure a level of professionalism is always kept up."
"No question about it. We are very professional and know how to act accordingly. Plus Felicity will keep me in line."
"Good. I do want to apologize to you both for the remarks Mr. Reynolds made to her yesterday. It was highly inappropriate and unprofessional. There have been a lot of problems with him of recent. Not sure why. I have my assumptions but no proof so it would just be rumors really."
"Well I can have Felicity look into him discretely to see if there is anything untoward going on. We have had enough problems with corruption within this company so we need to make sure if any is found that it is removed. We want this new image to be untarnished."
"Sounds like this company has a very bright future with you two at the helm. Have a good day Oliver. I will see you both in a couple days." Mr. Marks shook his hand and left.
Jerry walked him out and went to finish setting up for tomorrow before calling it a night. Oliver walked up to Felicity, reaching for her hands instantly. "You were remarkable today. Even Mr. Marks was improve with how you handled yourself. You are going to be great."
"We are going to be great. Oliver, you can do just as much as me, in terms of the company, all you have to do is believe in and apply yourself. I always have."
"And because of that belief, I am beginning to believe myself. Have I told you how much I love you today?"
"Not in the last couple hours." Felicity joked.
"Well then I am failing at my job. I love you so much Felicity." He wrapped his arms around her waist, still hold tightly onto her hands. He leaned down so that his lips were just next to her ear then said, "And watching you command the room and run the meeting was very sexy. I like this new bad ass Felicity."
"That was all your doing, Oliver. You made me stand up and fight for us, even against you. Now I am willing to fight for whatever I want until I get it."
"Well you won't have to fight me. Too much." Oliver leaned in and gave her a tender kiss, feeling his heart wanting to burst again. How could just one small person bring so much happiness and light into his life? Oliver wasn't sure what the answer to that mystery was but he looked forward to many years trying to figure it out.